Prince Andrew was reportedly "happy" with how the explosive interview went. Photo / AP
Prince Andrew was reportedly "happy" with how the explosive interview went. Photo / AP
Prince Andrew was "happy" with his BBC Newsnight interview.
The bombshell interview took place in November 2019 and now reports claim the disgraced duke and Buckingham Palace were pleased with the chat at the time.
Speaking with Times Weekend magazine, interviewer Emily Maitlis said despite having to step down from royal duties only days after the interview the "chatty" prince believed the interview "went well".
Maitlis recalled discreetly asking Andrew's acquaintances what he had thought before the interview aired and was told he had been very pleased.
She told the Times Weekend magazine: "He went to one of his 'straightforward shooting weekends' and told everyone there he was happy. The palace told us it was 'firm but fair'. I don't think they realised how the public or press would react. They certainly weren't expecting the furore.
"A good friend of Prince Charles said, 'Don't worry, you won't be put in the Tower.' I think they may have thought I had done what had to be done. I don't feel guilty that he resigned from his royal roles four days later."
The infamous interview included the 62-year-old royal being quizzed by Maitlis about his friendship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Revelations from the discussion - which included the prince's claims that he couldn't sweat and a denial of sleeping with Virginia Giuffre because he had been at Pizza Express with daughter Princess Beatrice on the day in question - sparked widespread ridicule and ultimately led to Andrew stepping away from official duties.
It comes as the 51-year-old broadcaster praised Andrew for the way he conducted himself during and after the interview.
The disgraced Duke of York sat down with BBC's Emily Maitlis in 2019. Photo / BBC
She said: "I felt he'd behaved rather well. He had given us this hour in the palace and was willing to talk about stuff. Most politicians now won't even talk about their own policies. So at least he had guts.
"He spent a long time afterwards chatting to us and allowing us to take shots going along the corridors. He even gave me this guided tour, saying, 'Her Majesty is just up these stairs. When you next come back I'll have to show you more. And do you know what's behind that door?' "
The interview had been arranged in secret and even Maitlis' parents didn't know about it until it aired.
The project, titled Scoop, will look at how the network managed to gain such rare access to the royal for the interview and will be based on the book Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews by former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister.
The behind-the-scenes negotiations in securing the interview and the subsequent filming of it will make "very thrilling drama", its writer Peter Moffat told film site Deadline.
